


Mulberry Leaves

by Truth



Category: Saiunkoku Monogatari
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-04-24
Updated: 2007-04-24
Packaged: 2017-10-14 06:48:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/146535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Truth/pseuds/Truth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What does Reishin see, when he looks at the mulberry blossoms?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mulberry Leaves

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a [](http://community.livejournal.com/saiunkoku_fic/profile)[**saiunkoku_fic**](http://community.livejournal.com/saiunkoku_fic/) fic exchange.By request, this story is set 13 years pre-series.

Spring was in the air, if you were the optimistic type. The keepers of the various stalls that lined the streets outside the Imperial Palace were showing signs of that optimism by casting away their warmer winter garb one layer at a time. There was still snow to be seen, here and there, but the sun was warm despite the faint, lingering chill of the air. The residents of the capital were more likely to be seen out and about for pleasure instead of necessity, despite the fact that true spring was still some months in the future.

“Ah, Reishin, there you are.”

Kou Reishin, newly minted government official and still very sensitive as to the proper protocol owed him, had been known to neatly and deliberately eviscerate any man foolish enough to address him by name alone – especially outside the palace and government offices. To be hailed so familiarly out on the _street_ …? The two junior officials with him each took a hasty step back as Reishin turned.

The man who had addressed the richly garbed official was taller, older and dressed far more simply, if no less warmly. Recognition was immediate and the irritation on Reishin’s face melted away as if it had never been. “Shouka.” Reishin nodded gravely, a very small smile curving the corners of his mouth as he nodded to the other man, leaving his companions open-mouthed with shock. “You’ve returned.”

Deciding to make themselves scarce before Reishin returned to his normal self, and thus also remove themselves from implication in whatever dire consequences were about to be wreaked, his companions fled.

“I see that your staff have already become accustomed to your habits,” Shouka noted, shaking his head sadly. “You could afford at least the occasional appearance of leniency, Reishin.”

Reishin struggled for a moment, dignity fighting a losing battle against his affection for his elder brother. “… yes, Shouka.” Dignity managed a last ditch stand, however, and he added, “Discipline is also vital to the workings of government.”

Shouka gave him a gentle smile. “So it is. Reishin, there is a….”

Whatever there was, it was doomed to be lost in the mists of obscurity as a young man appeared at Shouka’s elbow. “Sir,” he began, before catching sight of Shouka’s companion and abruptly closing his mouth. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“That’s quite all right, Seiran.” Shouka smiled down at the boy. “What have you found?”

Reishin stared at the boy, feeling a hard, unhappy knot begin to form solidly in his stomach. For all that the hair was cut somewhat differently, the clothing common and too young for the boy and a decided difference in posture and stance…. There could not exist two young men who had that combination of voice and features – not that many people outside the Imperial palace could be expected to be familiar with the face and attitude of the once-favorite and now banished prince.

He watched, silent, as the boy produced a simple, pretty doll dressed in bright colors and wound about with delicate ribbons, holding it up for Shouka to inspect. Everything about his posture and clothing pointed toward a boy far too young to be Prince Seian… and careful scrutiny revealed a developed body and musculature far too old to be the boy this ‘Seiran’ had been so carefully disguised to be.

“I think it an appropriate gift,” Shouka finally decided, nodding solemnly.

The young man smiled at him, a restrained and almost shy expression, before moving away to address the shop-keeper who’d been watching the exchange with indulgent interest.

“What,” Reishin inquired flatly, “do you think you are doing, Shouka?”

His elder brother turned, giving him a look of surprise. “Ah, that’s right. I meant to send you a message when we’d returned to the city.”

“A message?” Reishin took a step forward, lowering his voice to a hiss, “Are you _mad_? That’s….”

Shouka’s own expression was almost offensively bland. “Seiran? Shoukun and I have taken him into our household.”

Reishin stared at him, blood draining from his face. “You _are_ mad.”

“Shuurei will be three next week.” Shouka spoke pleasantly, smiling at his younger brother as if he hadn’t heard a word. “There will be a small celebration. We would be pleased to have you attend.”

“I… regret that I have other commitments.” The words came out almost in a daze as Reishin took a step backward, fury and something unpleasantly like fear coiling around him so tightly as to nearly cut off his breath. There was a pause before he collected himself enough to add, “please extend my apologies to your wife.”

“Reishin….” There was concern on Shouka’s face now as he reached for his brother’s arm, but Reishin stepped backward again.

“I have urgent business.” The words came out slowly and calmly despite the dazed racing of his thoughts. “Perhaps another time.”

"Perhaps." Shouka watched his younger brother turn and move away, stride just slow enough that it appeared dignified instead of disordered retreat. He had never seen Reishin jarred quite so badly and he wore a faint frown as Seiran again appeared at his elbow.

"Sir?" There was tension in the soft word and, by the time Shouka looked down at him, the frown had vanished to be replaced by a reassuring smile.

"My younger brother," he explained, turning himself and moving slowly down the street, gesturing at Seiran to follow. "I will introduce you... some other time."

**

Reishin’s discovery of Kou Houju’s beautiful garden had been made during the slightly drunken celebration of the end of the Imperial Examinations. The trifling fact that the drinking involved the only three students to actually pass the exam was actually one of the main reasons for the drinking – which had been Reishin’s idea. The details were still somewhat fuzzy, but there had definitely been alcohol involved.

Houju, at least, had been grateful for the alcohol – especially after the announcement of the exam results and Reishin and Yuushun had been careful to keep his glass full. It had seemed only natural to invite them home with him. After all, what possible harm could come from a companionable drink (or five or six) in the garden?

After the second year wherein Houju found himself with an uninvited houseguest who spent hours staring dreamily out at his garden as the plum and peach blossoms slowly unfolded into soft beauty, the magnitude of his slightly inebriated mistake was obvious. The garden, though undoubtedly beautiful, was merely a convenient excuse for Kou Reishin’s frequent and extended visits and, given Reishin’s capricious nature, one that was easily believed.

So it was, that when the flower buds appeared on the trees, Houju braced himself for a visitor… who did not come.

The irritation that this act of non-appearance caused was not easy to explain. As difficult as Kou Reishin could be, Houju had become used to his odd habits. While it could not be honestly said that he looked forward to Reishin’s annual, uninvited visit, it stung to think that Reishin might have discovered a more enjoyable way to spend his evenings.

It was early yet, to think that Reishin wouldn’t come at all, but the plum blossoms had come and Houju found himself standing in the open doorway to the garden, staring at them accusingly, as if this unexpected absence were somehow their fault.

Kou Reishin didn’t have friends, despite a wide circle of acquaintances. Houju was the closest thing to a friend that Reishin had, for all that he generally treated Houju more like a convenience than another person. Houju had learned to endure it – it wasn’t as if he had a wide circle of friends himself, although that was more due to circumstance than anything like Reishin’s deliberate isolation.

Yuushun remained the only person to be balanced between them, a casual friend to both and the only other graduate of their shared Imperial exam. He accepted Reishin’s gentle taunting and Houju’s somewhat distracting appearance with resigned amusement… but his relationship was far more distant than the one which slowly wound around Reishin and Houju.

Houju regarded Reishin with a finely balanced mixture of affection and irritation and he found himself resenting the thought that Reishin might have relaxed his deliberate reserve enough to find someone else to gently torment.

 _The Imperial Palace is never silent, the sound of soft conversation never ceasing and the shuffle of feet a constant; even in the dead of night. In the early evening, as the last of the lingering officials disappeared into their offices and most of the royal family and attendant hangers on retreated for the last meal of the day, there was a hum of activity as servants moved to and fro._

 _Lanterns were lit, doors were secured and the servants eventually withdrew, leaving the grounds and offices mostly empty, save for the soldiers at each door and gate and the occasional, lingering official._

 _The emperor dined mostly alone these past few months, or with one of his senior advisors. Tonight, the doors were drawn tactfully closed on a simple meal that he would share with Shou Taishi; a single servant left to attend them._

“Dreaming?” The familiar voice was soft and gently mocking. “How very unlike you.”

... it was always easiest to harbor fond feelings when Reishin wasn't actually present. Houju turned away from the window to greet his visitor and found himself pausing.

Reishin had... a fan. It was hardly the season for such things, although they could be a necessity in the summer, and the delicately carved vanes of the accessory that currently shielded the lower half of his face spoke of expense. Not one of his whims, then. Reishin was many things, but wasteful was not one of them. The second thing that Houju noticed, once he'd managed to divert his attention from the fan, was Reishin's expression - or at least what could be seen of it.

The fan snapped closed with a practiced flick of the wrist as Reishin treated his friend to a smile that was as false as his aura of calm mockery. "Stunned into silence by my sudden arrival, or is this censure for my tardiness?" He moved to the window and glanced out into the darkened garden. "... did you think I would not come?"

"I assumed you had found other diversions." Houju kept his attention on Reishin, noting the casual falsity. "Is something wrong?"

"Wrong?" Reishin was still holding the fan, turning it slowly as he watched the wind gently moving the blossoming branches in the garden. "Today is my niece's third birthday - a day of celebration, in point of fact."

 _The soft murmur of conversation from within the small room was staggered, little more than enough to break the silence; keeping the atmosphere from becoming oppressive. The emperor sat with the erect posture of a younger man, shoulders unbowed by the tragedy that was slowly creeping to surround him._

 _His guest sat opposite, holding his cup in both hands as it was refilled by the quiet young man who waited on them both. Despite the seeming isolation of the room, footsteps could still occasionally be heard beyond the sliding doors and shadows moved against the thin walls; cast by the lanterns mounted outside as well as those carried by the guards._

 _As one of the shadows hesitated, the servant murmured an apology and withdrew, disappearing behind the screen that tastefully concealed the exit leading into the Emperor's private quarters._

"And as her family celebrates... you've come to me." Houju raised an eyebrow. Reishin doted on his elder brother and his niece, although few knew of the connection. Reishin liked to keep his personal life carefully separate from his public persona, and Houju knew a great deal more about the inner workings of the Kou family than most. "Why?"

Reishin pursed his lips as the hand idly toying with the fan stilled. "Shouka has taken a young man into his household… a son, though not in name."

"A son?" Houju frowned in turn. "Not for the succession."

"No." Reishin's face was almost expressionless as he turned to look at Houju. "Not for the succession of the Kou family, at any rate.”

That bought him a very faint frown. Nobility, even those who had been passed over in the succession of their own family, did not go about randomly adopting the children of other nobility, nor were there generally noble youths running about without proper guardianship. While there were plenty of noble children chasing around the various powerful families, there were none that had recently been orphaned or even….

Houju felt his mouth opening, though whether from horror or awe at Kou Shouka's sheer, suicidal audaciousness was something he couldn’t determine. He was unable to actually give voice to his shock, however, as Reishin swiftly placed one hand over his mouth.

“Yes, _that_ family. You will do me the favor of not actually voicing any names.” Reishin’s voice was low and intimate, if not overly friendly, as he removed his hand, stepping into Hojou’s personal space. Reaching upward, he hooked the long hair back to murmur directly into his Houju’s ear. “Would you like to know how I’ve been spending my evenings, Houju?”

The answer was immediate, Houju’s hands coming up to hold Reishin at bay. “No,” he said flatly, expression grim. "You're heading down a dangerous path - and it is one I do not choose to walk."

 _As the shadow once again began to move, joined by a second, the Emperor looked up from his meal and let his eyes fall on the single sword resting on a stand made for two._

 _Taishi Shou watched over the top of his glass, but did not turn. He knew what held his Emperor’s attention and wisely held his peace. The two men did not react as the shadows outside sprang into sudden, violent motion, dancing crazily against the walls._

 _A sudden, tearing crash announced violence in the adjacent room, but the Emperor’s attention remained on the sword, and Shou’s on his glass. Late, too late, cries of alarm and outrage were raised, and the sound of booted feet on the walks outside blended eerily with a scream of pain, followed closely by a second cry and the distinctive, heavy thud of a body as it came to the end of a fall and impacted solidly with the floor._

 _Shouts of anger and outrage, more running feet, more light and a wild, indecipherable dance of shadows turned the quiet meal into the surreal calm in the center of a hurricane of destruction._

Reishin accepted the rebuff calmly, stepping back and again bringing the fan up between them. "Do you think I would expose you thoughtlessly to danger?"

"Not thoughtlessly." Houju's voice was dry. No... if Reishin were going to risk Houju's life, it would be very deliberate indeed.

There was a very long pause as Reishin regarded him piercingly over the top of his fan. Houju stared back, long used to Reishin's fits and starts and not about to be put off by only being able to see his eyes. The look in them was measuring; cold fury mixing with... hurt? Reishin’s next question was carefully chosen, the words falling between them like jagged shards of ice. "Do you think that I would allow you to come to harm through this?"

A dangerous question, for more than one reason. Reishin wielded considerable power with the casual ruthlessness of one born to it, deception, misdirection and cold calculation as natural and involuntary as the beating of his heart. Reishin bestirred himself for _no one_ , least of all his family… the exceptions being his eldest, displaced, brother and Shouka’s own small family. Houju could not remember a single instance of effort or interest on the behalf of _anyone_ else – not that he was allowed to see very much of that side of Reishin in the first place.

The harsh question, combined with the slighted fury in Reishin’s eyes argued that, perhaps, he was willing to extend himself further. Reishin’s friendship was difficult enough and for Houju to accept this want – no, this _need_ to speak of what was undoubtedly no less than high treason, would bring an entirely different type of danger.

With Reishin, there were always strings attached.

The silence continued to stretch between them as Houju carefully weighed his options. Reishin waited, arrogance and accusation in every line of his pose and body. For all that Reishin was known almost as much for his impatience as his coldness, he recognized when patience was required and when to apply a careful goad.

Houju eventually turned away, looking out at the darkened garden. “Tell me.” His words were flat where they should have sung with tension – an indication of resignation as much as acceptance.

The fan snapped closed, revealing a very faint smile as Reishin shook the tension away, the long ribbons that tied back his hair dancing with the movement. Things had changed between them, or perhaps Houju had merely set the seal on a change he hadn’t been willing to acknowledge.

“Indulging in an old family pastime.” The fan was again flicking open and closed between Reishin’s fingers as he watched, not the garden, but the man posed in the open door before it. “It’s far more difficult to find reliable killers than you’d imagine, really.”

 _As the shouting died away and a nearby helpless, gurgling rasp for breath was suddenly silenced, Shou gently placed his cup on the table and folded his hands before him. “Tell me,” he asked, low voice sounding almost unnatural after the chaos of just moments before. “Where is your Black Wolf this evening?”_

 _The Emperor looked away from the sword, eyes settling gravely on his advisor. “He had a family function to attend this evening.”_

 _“I see.” A gentle tapping at the door leading out to the courtyard brought the servant back from the inside room, a long knife disappearing into one sleeve as he moved to answer it._

 _A gently murmured conversation brought the servant to kneel beside the Emperor. “The guards would like to report that there were three assassins… and that the meal originally set out for you in the next room was poisoned.”_

 _The Emperor nodded, sighing. “Precautions worth taking. This is the fourth night in a row.”_

 _Shou rose slowly to his feet and bowed to the Emperor. “With your permission, your majesty, I would like to take a closer look at what occurred while we enjoyed our dinner.”_

 _“Thank you.” The Emperor nodded to him._

 _“In your service,” Shou’s eyes gleamed as he straightened, smiling benevolently, “it is nothing less than an honour.”_

Houju didn’t quite flinch but his fingers, resting on the doorframe, tightened. “… and if they are traced back to you?”

“They will not be.” Reishin’s smile suddenly lacked humor. “I am not a novice at these games, Houju. They’ve no idea where the orders come from, and I am not fool enough to use the same method twice.”

Which indicated more than one failure thus far. Houju could feel tension slowly crawling up his spine as he tried not to calculate the odds. Turning away from the garden, he looked grimly at Reishin. “Why?”

It was Reishin’s turn to look away, eyes dropping to the fan again spread open in one hand. “Shouka… has no political ambition.”

“Considering the act of accepting that particular young man into his household, it is hard to believe that he would risk death simply because he’s fond of the boy,” Houju pointed out.

“It may be nothing more complicated than finding a boy with nowhere else to turn.” Reishin’s smile this time was almost wistful and sat oddly on his normally composed face. “My brother’s wife has a kind heart.”

Houju had met Shouka once or twice and retained memories of a gentle smile and boundless good will. It _was_ difficult to imagine him wrapped in dark intrigue and scheming to place the banished Prince Seian on the throne - but not impossible. Reishin, after all, came from the same family.

“You wish to eliminate the danger to your brother.” It wasn’t a guess and Houju added dryly, “Had it occurred to you that there are less murderous ways to go about it?”

Eyes narrowing, Reishin looked up at Houju as his lips thinned with obvious disapproval.

Houju shook his head. Reishin saw a danger to the few, precious people that he loved and his normal calm calculation was suddenly tinged with blood and death. “Reishin….”

“My niece will not spend her childhood without her father,” was Reishin’s level response, fan slowly opening between his fingers. “My brother will not be branded a _traitor_ , his wife and daughter sent away from our family.”

In an atypical reversal, it was Houju’s turn to reach out to Reishin, but his hand came to a halt, half-raised, as the fan suddenly snapped closed again and he found it leveled at himself. Reishin’s expression was cold, underlain again by that strange _hurt_ that Houju had glimpsed earlier.

“The Emperor,” he offered softly, each word careful and deliberate, “is nothing more than a man.” Chin high and eyes narrowed, Reishin continued, “And no man will _ever_ be allowed to harm them.”

Houju’s hand turned in the air, closing gently over Reishin’s wrist, the fan still leveled between them. “Now there is a fourth,” he reminded Reishin softly, “at least in Shouka's eyes, and Shoukun is far from being too old to bear more children. What will you do then, as they age and begin to drift apart? Will you attempt to watch over them all?”

Reishin’s jaw tightened, but he did not pull away.

“Reishin, you should….”

Houju’s words were cut off by Reishin’s hand a second time. Stepping into Houju’s space, he murmured, “No. This was my decision, and I will pursue it as I see fit.”

Staring at Reishin, fingers tightening against the wrist still beneath his hand, Houju hesitated. This was a mood that he'd never seen from the mercurial, capricious Reishin. There was something painfully raw beneath the murderous determination, something that _needed_ , and it felt that he'd found himself cornered by a stranger.

"I never," and again, the words held a slow, deliberate cadence as Reishin stared into Houju's eyes, "abandon what's _mine_."

 _It was full dark before the chaos at the Imperial palace settled again into silence, the booted feet of the guards again only heard faintly as they paced their watch._

 _The Emperor stood before the carefully mounted sword, gently raising it from the stand and slowly drawing it. As he looked at the naked blade in the dim light, there was movement behind him. Tilting the blade, he examined the reflection of the man poised on one knee behind him._

 _“I did not expect to see you tonight.”_

 _Kou Shouka bowed his head. “I received a message.”_

 _“Your warning was acted upon,” the Emperor assured him softly, re-sheathing the blade. “All is well.”_

 _Shouka smiled. “All is well.”_

**

With the warmth of Houju’s hands still on his skin, Reishin sat silently in his carriage, fan tucked away into a sleeve. As much as he refused to admit it, the thought of tiny Shuurei with her bright smile growing up and _leaving_ , moving out of his reach, bothered him more than he liked.

He’d have to make a plan, something to cover this eventuality.

Restless, he leaned forward, twitching aside the curtain that covered the small window and looking out at the street, despite the chill. A familiar spray of color caught his attention, and he rapped on the roof, bringing his carriage to a halt.

Five minutes later, fan again in his hands, he looked across the small carriage at a somewhat belligerent child who could not seem to decide whether to be awed or afraid.

‘He will do,’ Reishin decided, lips twitching into a very faint smile, which instantly vanished as the boy looked up at him furtively.

“What,” there was hesitation in the boy’s voice as he asked, “what are you thinking?”

The fan came up, concealing the reoccurring smile. “Thinking?” Reishin echoed softly, fingers of his free hand resting against the spray of plum blossoms that rested on the seat beside him. “Of mulberry leaves.”

The boy blinked at him uncertainly and subsided, fidgeting slightly and obviously unsatisfied by the answer.

Reishin left him unenlightened, still smiling behind his fan. ‘With time and patience, the mulberry leaf becomes a silk gown.’

Yes, the boy would do very well.


End file.
